What Is Soft Copper Tubing Used For

The different types of copper tubing copper piping can be found in numerous appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators.

What is soft copper tubing used for. The typical outer diameter ranges from 1 8 inch to 13 8 inch. Inflexible hard copper pipe requires pipe bending equipment in order to bend it and is usually cut and fit rather than bent. Copper pipes can be manufactured as soft or rigid copper and offer excellent corrosion resistance and reliable connections. Markings of acr are done on the tubing to indicate that it is used for air conditioning and refrigeration purposes.

It is therefore more expensive to produce than non annealed rigid copper tubing. Soft copper the soft copper is flexible and comes in rolls of 25 feet or 50 feet. Long lasting copper tube is a favorite choice for plumbing heating cooling and other systems. Soft or ductile copper tubing can be bent easily to travel around obstacles in the path of the tubing.

While the work hardening of the drawing process used to size the tubing makes the copper hard or rigid it is carefully annealed to make it soft again. Soft copper pipe bends easily without tools and is more properly called tubing. 3 8 o d 3 8 i d. All tube supplied to these astm standards is a minimum of 99 9 percent pure copper.

A fourth type used for drain waste vent or dwv piping can be found in some older homes. Refrigeration tubing is available in 1 8 to 1 5 8 od coils of 50 and 100 lengths. The three most common types of copper pipe used in residential and commercial construction are type k type l and type m. Refrigeration grade soft copper tubing is sized according to the outside diameter of the copper pipe.

The plumbing industry uses the inside diameter nominal size of the pipe for their measurement of sweat solder fittings. Manufacturers make hard and soft copper pipe for water supply plumbing. Copper refrigeration tubing is soft copper tubing used for various applications such as heater units heater lines gas lines oil burner tubes air conditioner lines and plumbing applications. Soft copper tubing coils type l for use with propane.

It can be joined by any of the three methods used for rigid copper and it is the only type of copper tubing suitable for flare connections. In the united states it is manufactured to meet the requirements of specifications established by astm international. Types of copper tube. Lightweight copper pipe and tubing resists corrosion and is suitable for plumbing refrigeration and hvac applications.